


War Games

by CarrKicksDoor



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: New Republic Era - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-15
Updated: 2012-02-15
Packaged: 2017-10-31 06:12:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/340834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarrKicksDoor/pseuds/CarrKicksDoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What seems like a dance can be so much, much more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	War Games

**Author's Note:**

> Set between HoT and NJO

His hand rested dangerously low on her back as they moved through the crowd. This group of people was made up of those who were deadly to them if they crossed them. The company they kept was the kind that with one sting, could cripple their business, and split the two of them apart, so it was necessary to feed them with bits and pieces of gossip to keep the beasts at bay.  
  
After all, there was no such dangerous creature in the universe as a politician.  
  
“You’re tense,” he observed.   
  
“You know I hate these events,” she said. “You hardly need me here.”  
  
“On the contrary. I expect you to protect me at these events like you do everyday,” Karrde said.   
  
“By warning you that there is a Bothan off your port bow?” Shada said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“Exactly the sort of situation I bring you along for.”  
  
“I wasn’t joking. Bothan off your port bow.”  
  
Karrde barely turned his head to see the newly elected Chief of State approaching them with a singleness of purpose, and with a deft economy of movement, took two steps to the right, sweeping Shada onto the dance floor. She didn’t miss a step as they entered the swirling circle of dancers, for all the world looking as if they had planned to begin dancing the entire time.  
  
“Are you going to move your hand?” she inquired politely.  
  
“I rather like it where it is,” he said, gently pressing his fingertips into the exposed flesh of her lower back.  
  
“Fey’lya is staring,” she said.   
  
“Undoubtedly, he wishes the favor of dancing with you,” Karrde said. “I have no intention of allowing him that courtesy.”  
  
“Even if it means being on the dance floor all night.”  
  
“I can’t think of a more pleasant occupation.”  
  
He was an excellent dancer. He would have to be, considering his occupation, dancing around regulations and laws and people who wanted to kill him. The pressure of his hand guided her around the dance floor and Shada never needed to look to see if she was going to run into someone. His expert direction let her close her eyes for the longer than the briefest of seconds.   
  
Karrde pulled her in closer as the music changed, and she felt his laughter rumble in his chest. “What’s so funny?” she said, her eyes springing open to look at him.  
  
“I was enjoying the look on your face,” he explained.   
  
She raised an eyebrow. “What was so funny about it?”  
  
“It was the exact opposite of your usual expression,” he explained. “Relaxed, somehow.”  
  
“I’m relaxed when I’m on the ship,” she replied, choosing to overlook the comment about her usual expression. “Or do you only pay attention to my expression when I’m at these formal affairs acting as your arm candy?”  
  
He spun her out and then back in. “Arm candy? My dear Shada, I would never classify you in that category of flighty, insensible women. The fact that you happen to be both beautiful and deadly is merely a bonus to me when I have such a need for a companion at these kind of events.”

  
“So does that mean you aren’t going to move your hand?” she inquired evenly.  
  
“Again, I rather like it where it is,” Karrde said.  
  
“You’re a cad.”  
  
He tilted his head in appreciation for the compliment.   
  
“I could make you move your hand,” she said.  
  
“I suppose you could,” Karrde said. “But I’m balancing the option that you would have to do such a thing in public. I don’t believe that you would.”  
  
“What could have possibly made you believe that I wouldn’t do such a thing in public?” she asked.   
  
He pulled her flush against him, putting his mouth near her ear. “Because you like it.”  
  
She was far too well trained to jump backwards in surprise. “What have I done that’s given you that impression?”  
  
He ran a hand down her bare arm. “Your skin is flushing. You have goosebumps on your arms. Your breathing is getting faster.”  
  
“And what happens if I do like it?” she kept on. “I thought you didn’t engage in lecherous relationships with those in your employ.”  
  
“If—“ and he spun her out again, allowing his gaze to take in her full figure, “—I happened to be a lecherous figure, would it matter to you as long as I was engaging in that relationship with you?”  
  
“Are you suggesting we begin such an affair?” Shada questioned him.   
  
He shrugged. “Are you suggesting such a thing, Shada? Would that be amenable to you?”  
  
Her eyes narrowed at his cavalier attitude. “I would never do such a thing,” she said, “unless I could be certain of the feelings of the person with whom I was engaging in such an affair.” She stepped backwards as the music ended, signaling the end of the dance. “I never enter into any kind of affair, business or pleasure, lightly. You should know that by now.”  
  
She walked off the floor, leaving him to stand there and leaving the creatures around them to hiss in their gossip and continue plotting ways to bring them down.***  
  
The buzzards were long since gone, out carrying their pieces of gossip to their masters, deciding how best to put them to use, and Shada stood in her quarters undressing from the evening. Her fine feathers were a gorgeous plumage, but as she stripped down, it didn’t hide the predatory nature of the body underneath.  
  
Slipping on the proper undergarments for her normal ships clothing, she stopped to take a drink out of the cup of water she had out on the dresser. The annunciator rang, and she glanced at the door. “Come in.”  
  
His eyes took in the sight at once, but his gaze swept up and down her body before he said anything. “I didn’t expect you to answer your door so attired.”  
  
She bent over the dresser, detatching the dangling gems from her ears and laying them out on the surface. “I don’t dress for the help, Karrde.” She looked over her shoulder. “I certainly don’t dress for you.”  
  
“I wouldn’t encourage you to do so on my account,” he said, stepping further into the room. The door slid shut behind him. “Although I might have something to say if you’re allowing Aves to see you in such a state of undress.”  
  
“Jealous?”  
  
“Concerned for the well-being of my crew,” Karrde said. “I’d hate for you to have to dislocate his jaw again.”  
  
She leaned back against the dresser, adopting a casual pose. “Is that the reason you’re here? To discuss the well-being of the crew?”  
  
“Hardly,” Karrde said. There was something pure evil in his eyes as he approached her. “I came to put my hand on your back again.”  
  
“Is this a fetish of yours?” she remarked flippantly. “Women’s backs?”  
  
“Not women’s backs,” he said. “Just yours.”  
  
He was within centimeters of her. If she leaned forward, she’d be sharing the same breath with him. “I can hurt you,” she said.  
  
“I’m willing to take that risk.”  
  
“Are you willing to agree to my terms for such a liaison?” she said, leaning forward.   
  
“Unconditionally.”  
  
“Then turn off the light and come to bed.”


End file.
